The "District of Columbia Federal Immigration Compliance Act" prohibits D.C. from enacting sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, except for victims and witnesses of crimes.
Clay Higgins
Representative
LA-3
The "District of Columbia Federal Immigration Compliance Act" prohibits the District of Columbia from acting as a sanctuary jurisdiction by preventing local entities from sharing immigration status information with federal authorities or complying with federal detainment requests. An exception is provided for policies protecting victims and witnesses of crimes.
DC Faces Federal Mandate: Bill Prohibits Sanctuary Policies, Requires Immigration Info Sharing
This proposed federal law, the "District of Columbia Federal Immigration Compliance Act," directly targets how the District of Columbia handles immigration enforcement. It explicitly forbids DC from enacting or maintaining any law, policy, or practice that prevents its officials from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. The core goal is to ensure DC aligns with federal immigration priorities.
No More Sanctuary Status?
The bill takes aim at what are often called "sanctuary" policies. Specifically, it prohibits DC from restricting its government entities – think local police, schools, or social services – from sharing information about an individual's citizenship or immigration status with federal, state, or even other local government bodies. This means if a federal agency like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) asks, DC officials couldn't refuse to share that information based on a local sanctuary policy.
Furthermore, the legislation mandates compliance with specific Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requests under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). These include "detainer requests" (under INA Section 236) where DHS asks local law enforcement to hold an individual for up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release time so federal agents can take custody. It also covers requests for notification about an individual's release date (under INA Section 287). Essentially, DC police would be required to honor these federal requests.
Information Flow and Enforcement
The practical effect is a potential increase in information sharing between DC agencies and federal immigration enforcement. If a DC police officer interacts with someone, this bill could require them to share immigration status details if requested by federal authorities. Similarly, if someone is arrested and booked, DC would be obligated to notify DHS upon request and potentially hold them longer for federal pickup, even if their local charges are resolved.
A Limited Exception
There's one specific carve-out. The bill states these prohibitions don't apply if DC has a policy focused only on protecting individuals who are victims or witnesses to a criminal offense. This suggests DC could still limit cooperation specifically to encourage crime reporting by undocumented individuals without fear of deportation. However, any broader policy limiting cooperation for other residents would be disallowed under this federal act.